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Whether writing for scientific purposes or personal satisfaction or to convey personal experiences in the natural world to others, what better place to start a nature journal than on the Huntington Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Students will explore Huntington Beach, Porter Creek and the flora and fauna of the surrounding meadow lands, while expressing their creativity through writing and illustrating their own personal nature journal. Both rewarding and fun, students are sure to sharpen their analytical and observation skills while deepening their appreciation of nature.

Grade Level:

Geared primarily toward children ages 8 to 12, but works just as well for teenagers and adults with a few modifications.

Time:

Two hours per class for six weeks.

Learning Objectives:

Objective #1

Students will use real-life experiences in nature as inspiration for journal writing, illustration and personal expression.

Objective #2

Students will explore various practices of nature journaling for descriptive, informational, narrative and persuasive writing.

Objective #3

Students will learn the fundamentals of map making in order todevelop a sense of place and an increased appreciation of the natural world.

Materials Needed:

8.5 x 11 three ring view binder. A “view” binder will allow students design their own cover.

Pencils ( varying hardness, often sold together), colored pencils, a sharpener and a white eraser

Watercolors and paint brush

Bottle of water

Paper towels

Ziploc bags for collecting treasures such as pine cones, leaves, shells or seeds

Field bag or backpack to hold supplies

Optional Items:

Binoculars

Camera

Compass

Measuring tape or ruler

Field guides

Map

Instructor will supply additional worksheets, including templates for field notes, writing prompts, and graphic organizers. Also, graph paper and art/craft supplies for projects created in studio will be supplied. Students will want to have their own art supplies for creative work completed on nature walks.

Lesson Plans:

Week One: Introduction to Nature Journals and Mapping

Background

Creating a Nature Journal

Getting kids interested in natural world teaches them to appreciate it. Once they are outdoors and engaged, they are more likely to develop a feeling of connection to the plants, animals and natural spaces in their backyards, communities and parks. And, they will be more likely to want to protect them as they grow into adulthood. Keeping a nature journal is a great way to start.

In the most popular recent book on the subject, “Keeping a Nature Journal”, author Clare Walker Leslie puts it simply: “whereas a diary or personal journal records your feelings toward yourself and others, a nature journal primarily records your responses to and reflections about the world of nature around you.” With a subject as broad as the natural world, nature journals lend themselves to a wide range of expression. The possibilities are endless.

Keeping a nature journal helps students connect with nature through writing and illustration. They will learn how to observe nature closely and keep accurate records on these observations. They will also learn to narrate their experiences in the natural world

Developing a Sense of Place

A sense of place can be described as the fundamental ways people relate to places that convey a feeling of attachment and belonging. It develops when personal meaning is attributed to a specific location or setting and usually starts close to home. Maybe it’s your back yard or the neighborhood where you played as a kid. Or maybe it’s a park you’ve visited with your family on vacation. Whatever the case may be, studies have shown that attachment to natural spaces is beneficial to our emotional, functional and cognitive well being.

The Importance of Geography and Mapping

They also must have a better understanding of maps and geography. Studies reveal that the geographical acumen of American children consistently leaves much room for improvement over the past decade. Results from the National Geographic – Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study found that recent graduates of the US education system were “unprepared for an increasingly global future”. Just months after hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the study found that 33 % of study participants could not find Louisiana on a map.

According to the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, called “the nations report card”, less than a quarter (22%) of fourth grade students in the US scored “proficient” or above proficient” on the test. The same test for eighth graders in 2014 showed little improvement.

Understanding geography is important because helps us to better understand our world. Through the study of geography, students learn to use data from maps, graphics and texts to recognize patterns and solve problems. It contributes to global understanding and tolerance by making students more aware of of the countries and their cultures. It also helps us to understand the impact of environmental factors on specific areas. But, the study of geography starts with understanding our immediate environment and it expands with experience. Geographical awareness serves as a link between home, school and the world at large. In the early grades, basic geographical knowledge and map skills are the foundation for more complex critical thinking skills later. Later, geographically informed students will emerge as leaders and be well equipped to take their place in the global community.

Procedure

Introduction to Nature Journals and Maps and their various uses

Have students illustrate the cover of their nature journals using paints, colored pencils or markers. (Have examples of nature journal pages for inspiration.)

Overview of the importance of reading maps

Using graph paper, have students draw a simple map of the Huntington Reservation from an actual Metroparks map.

Have the class take a break on a picnic table with healthy snacks suitable for a nature hike. (Remind students they may want to pack similar snacks for future class nature hikes.)

Explain how to write a personal narrative (story) and then have the students write about their favorite memory of a time they spent in nature. Encourage them to draw a picture.

Assemble materials in field bag for next class

Week Two: Flora or Fauna?

Background

Learning about plant and animal species as preparation for future experiences in nature

Making a bird feeder

Writing about a process (descriptive writing)

Flora and fauna mean plants and animals; the word “flora” is used to discuss plant life, while the word “fauna” refers to animal life. Recently, children are becoming disconnected from nature. So much so that they are more familiar with Pokemon characters than they are with animal species, even some of the most common ones. They can recognize hundreds of consumer brands, but only a handful of plant varieties. This week, students will become familiar with a wide variety of local bugs, birds, animals, plants and trees through art projects, games and personal observations.

Procedure

Introduction to Flora and Fauna – use a game to teach familiar names of native plants, trees and animals they may encounter on future hikes.

Ask students to paint a picture of their favorite bird (fauna) and add it to their nature journals. Have pictures of some of birds native to the area for reference.

Take a walk outside and have the students look for birds in the yard. Show them the areas where we have bird feeders hung. Explain how it is important to feed the birds in the summer while they are nesting as well as the winter when its cold and snowing.

Have students choose a bird feeder to make.

When they are finished with the project have them write about it in their journals.

Have students take a picture of their bird feeder in their back yard and add the picture to their nature journals to illustrate their “How to” essays.

Notes:

Create a preprinted “Sequence Chain” (step by step) diagram and pass out the class to organize information before writing descriptive essay on how to make a bird feeder.

Week Three: Sensory Beach Hike

Background

Sensory beach hike

Learning to use five senses in observing nature

Employing descriptive journaling to capture impressions of nature

One of the most diverse and unique ecosystems in the Emerald Necklace chain of the Cleveland Metroparks, the Huntington Reservation borders Lake Erie on its northern boundary. Students will hike to the beach and use their senses to explore descriptive journaling to open up their perceptions of their natural surroundings. Students will be asked to write a descriptive essay on a day at the beach using descriptive journal entries and illustrations that will add depth to their writing and also deepen their awareness and appreciation of this valuable freshwater ecosystem.

Procedure

Point out the path that the class will follow to the beach and make notes in their journals.

Hike to Huntington Beach

Allow time for students to explore the beach and find a place of their choosing to journal their impressions.

Working with a partner, they will experiment with their senses by walking along the beach and taking turns closing their eyes to concentrate on what they hear, feel and smell without the benefit of sight. One partner will lead and the sightless partner will follow. Students take turns in each role.

Allow students to find a piece of driftwood to bring back to for an art project in Week Four.

Stop at the picnic pavilion for a healthy snack

Notes:

Use a preprinted observation chart to organize information by using the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.

Week Four: Creek Walk Hike

Background

Explore habitats

Learn about informational (scientific) journal writing

Complete painted fish project

All types of living species need certain things to thrive, including food, water and shelter. Students will hike to the meadow lands bordering Porter Creek in the Huntington Reservation of the Metroparks. Along the way, we will discuss ecosystems, habitats and watersheds that sustain local wildlife in this area. We will take time to discuss keeping a Grinnell type journal and the application of informational journal writing for scientific purposes. Grinnell journaling is the method most used by professional biologists and field naturalists and was developed by Joseph Grinnell, a filed naturalist and teacher and the first director of the University of California’s Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. His method included recording his observations as they were happening, detailed observations on specific species and species counts and keeping a record of where and when specimens were collected.

Procedure

Point out the path that the class will take to explore Porter Creek and the meadow on the class map of the Huntington Reservation.

Hike the Porter Creek Trail

Allow time for students to explore the meadow and find a place of their choosing to journal their impressions in the Grinnell style of journaling.

Stop at the picnic area to have a healthy snack

Use the driftwood collected in Week Three to complete an art project painting colorful fish on the pieces of wood

Notes:

Create a preprinted “Network Tree” graphic organizer to help students answer key questions about their observations and organize research before writing Grinnell journal entries.

Week Five: Hike to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center

Background

Explore the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center

Writing a story about a rescue animal (narrative writing)

Many species of local wildlife are endangered everyday. Humans have moved into areas previously occupied by animals and habitats have been destroyed and migration patterns disrupted. Hazards such as traffic, power lines, pollution and overpopulation are threatening otherwise healthy populations. At the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center they teach visitors about wildlife through live animal exhibits, wildlife education programs and the animal rehabilitation services they provide to over 1000 animals per year. They have outdoor and indoor display areas for public visitors to view both local wildlife and exotic/domestic animals. Students will hike to the Nature Center located at the south end of the Huntington Reservation to observe and learn about native species and animal rescue programs. In addition to journaling their observations during the hike, they will then be tasked to create narrative (story) about one of the animals they have observed at the Nature Center and include this story in their nature journals.

Procedure

Point out the path that the class will take to hike to Lake Erie Nature & Science Center on the class map of the Huntington Reservation.

Explain to the class that they will use their observations at the Nature Center to write a story about a rescue animal they saw on their field trip.

Review the steps to writing a narrative (story) account of the experience (see notes below). Explain how this is one of many ways to describe their observations and experience.

Hand out a template with space for students to fill in information for the prewiting (research) phase of their writing project.

Hike to the Nature Center and tour the animal sanctuary and indoor displays

Stop to have a healthy snack

Have the students create a story from the animals point of view on how they came to live at the Nature Center.

Notes:

Use a preprinted “Storyboard” organizer to plan a story about a rescue animal

Week Six: Working Together for the Good of All

Background

Call to action

Collaborative mapping project/Writing a friendly (persuasive) writing

Persuasive writing

Children have become increasingly disconnected from nature. Today, young Americans spend about half as much time outdoors as their parents did. Causes range from parents fears of danger to loss or natural surroundings in neighborhoods and cities. Combined with the temptation of indoor activities such as television, video games and social media, a disconnect from nature has reached epidemic proportions. So much so that a wide range of physical and cognitive disorders have surged. People are losing touch with the natural world at a time when their ecological literacy is not only crucial to their own health, but also to the well-being of future generations and the future viability to our planet. Faced with increasing environmental challenges, tomorrow’s leaders must be prepared to understand the connections between human and natural systems (eco-literacy) and make decisions for the benefit of all.

Procedure

Have the class work collaboratively to illustrate a large mural of a map of the Huntington Reservation. Using their entries from their nature journals, have them work to fill in the map based on their observations and experiences.

As some students are working on the mural, others will write a friendly opinion letter about why someone should visit the Huntington Reservation based on the facts and opinions they have developed over the past five weeks.

With the extra time left, students will go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt. They will be given a list of seasonal flora and fauna to collect and/or locate and observe. The group will take one last hike around the park and look for the species on the list. They will then be asked to journal the experience.

Notes:

Use a preprinted “Fact and Opinion Chart” as a graphic organizer to assemble information before beginning to write a Persuasive Friendly Letter

April is National Autism Month. Autism is a neural development disorder characterized by both verbal and non-verbal communication impairments, hyper focus on narrowly restricted areas of interest and repetitive speech patterns and behaviors. The number of children diagnosed with autism has been increasing dramatically since the 1980’s and the prevalence of children on the autism spectrum is currently thought to be approximately 1 in 88.

Typical treatment programs focus on behavior modification, structured teaching, speech and language therapy and social therapy. Various medications are also used to treat problems associated with autism spectrum disorders. However, there is currently no known cure.

Many alternative therapies are available, including therapeutic riding programs. While research into equine assisted therapy is fairly new, anecdotal evidence shows that the effects of horseback riding on the behavior of autistic kids is often so powerful, that some children respond in ways that cannot be accomplished in any other setting. Equine therapy also provides therapeutic benefits to children with a wide range of other mental, physical and behavioral challenges as well.

I recently had the chance to sit down with Cory Ramsey, Manager of the Equine Programs at Camp Cheerful in Strongsville, Ohio, to talk about their therapeutic riding program and the benefits of providing kids with meaningful experiences in nature.

Elizabeth: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today.

Camp Cheerful has a long history of providing outdoor recreation to children with disabilities. However, the equine program has been a more recent addition to your camp programs, correct?

Cory: Yes. Camp Cheerful always had farm animals here, including horses, but they formally became a therapeutic riding center in 2005. The program originated from families that were looking for the option of equine therapy and the camp staff recognized the need to formalize it. They made the decision to become an accredited riding center and started fundraising to build the barn. They went through the accreditation process with NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association), which is now PATH (Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship).

Elizabeth: Exactly how does a riding center become accredited?

Cory: PATH has standards for all accredited centers that are members. We are required to be in compliance with the treatment of the horses, the safety of the client, instructors and the volunteers. The standards also include the certification process for instructors. They have to complete a written test, a lesson plan and teach a mock lesson to other students. They are required to physically ride a horse and are tested for their riding skills as well. Instructors also need to gain overall knowledge of cognitive, physical, emotional and behavioral disabilities so that they can better understand and serve the client. PATH does a preliminary site visit for the initial accreditation and then they come back every five years to ensure the standards are maintained.

Elizabeth: Were you a part of the program since its inception?

Cory: No. I came a year later.

Elizabeth: What led you to Camp Cheerful?

Cory: I was looking for a career path that would allow me to follow my passion, which has always been horses and children. About a year after the program started, I heard they had an opening for a Volunteer Coordinator, so I applied for the position and started out working part-time.

Elizabeth: It takes a lot of volunteers to keep a therapeutic riding program running smoothly. One rider may require as many as three volunteers. I have always been amazed by the commitment and loyalty of the Camp Cheerful volunteers who return year after year to help out. I know you have since passed the responsibility of Volunteer Coordinator along to others, but you were the one who initially established and managed this incredible group of people. What’s your secret?

Cory: Well, of course I’d like to take the credit, but in reality, it is just a matter of connecting with people. Initially, volunteers will approach us for their own reasons. Whether it’s that time in life to give back, whether they’re required to do service hours for school, have extra time on their hands or maybe they just love horses. There is something that initially draws the person to Camp and to our program.

Once they’re here, I try to discover their interests, and cultivate those interests over time. So if there is someone that has always loved horses and never had the chance to be around them, I try to bring them in and help them to learn about the horse. Sometimes a student comes to do service hours for school and he or she may only need eight hours …and four years later they’re still here. I absolutely cannot take any credit for that. I attribute it to many things… the relationships that the volunteers have with the riders and also the bonds that are built between volunteers.

Ultimately, I think it’s important to create a good positive culture so people feel welcome. They all come with different degrees of expertise in different areas and so we always want to make sure people are comfortable here and don’t feel intimidated. I try to bring everyone in and work to their strengths, help them with their challenges and educate them in areas that they have interest in.

Elizabeth: Do they need special training?

Cory: We provide a two-hour orientation to make sure that the program is what they are expecting. I always like to say that the orientation is their opportunity for an out. Volunteers must be age 14 and older and be able to walk for an hour. We also want to make sure that people understand the scope of the environment that they will be working in, and that they have the maturity to handle certain behavioral challenges.

It’s amazing. There are families that become really close to certain volunteers. Some relationships have started here and continue on outside of Camp. Sometimes, part of the reason that the rider continues to participate in the program is due to a particular volunteer and part of the reason a volunteer continues to help out is because of the rider. Once they’re hooked…they stay.

Elizabeth: That’s what you want, right?

Cory: Yes. I love it!

Elizabeth: There is a growing awareness that working with and riding horses can be physically beneficial to people. I have always loved horses and have been riding for years. When I was younger, I didn’t really think about my relationship with a horse. I was just having fun. It wasn’t until much later that I realized the special bond that I had formed with my horses throughout the years. What about you? How did your relationship with horses evolve?

Cory: I’ve been working with horses since I was about ten. I was the little girl with the horses all lined up on the shelf. My aunt and uncle had a farm with ponies and a horse and I would go out there for hours. When I was twelve, I volunteered at Gibbs Farm, which is now Stearns Homestead in Parma, Ohio. After that, I started riding my aunt’s pony, and then took lessons. Later, we bought a horse…and the rest is history.

Elizabeth: Was there a defining moment in your association with horses where you realized there was more to the relationship between horses and humans than just pure fun?

Cory: I think I had an immediate connection, even before I started riding. I have always felt very comfortable around horses. At first, I played with my aunt’s ponies…going out there to groom and take care of them. I can’t describe it or put it into words, but it was just being around them, more so than the riding, that created the connection.

Elizabeth: One of the misperceptions about equine therapy is that it’s merely a pony ride…that it’s a fun experience for the kids and nothing more. But there are also tangible physical and mental benefits associated with therapeutic riding sessions. Specifically, how does equine therapy help the rider?

Cory: One of the main physical benefits is that the movement of the horse helps build trunk strength in a child with a physical disability. I’ve seen kids be able to sit up taller and reach further. I’ve had a mom that said, “My seventeen year old son can sit up on his bed while I change his shirt, and he’s never been able to do that in his life.” She attributes his progress to riding.

For our kids on the autism spectrum, there are also psychological benefits to riding. These kids can be in an escalated state of behavior prior to getting on the horse for a variety of reasons. But once they are mounted, the swaying motion of the horse’s gait lulls them into a calmer state and allows them to focus more clearly. I have seen quite a few transformations. We support the child, but really it’s the horse and the rider that are creating that connection.

Elizabeth: The parent of a child with a disability might ask how they can be sure that equine therapy is right for their child. Is there some sort of evaluation process that occurs before kids are admitted into the program?

Cory: Yes. Initially, we do a telephone intake and ask them a series of questions to make sure that we are able to serve their needs. Then, we have the family come in, tour the barn and at this time we fit the child for a helmet. For some of our kids with sensory issues, wearing a helmet can be more overwhelming than being in the barn with a horse.

During the physical intake process, we have them ride a horse for about fifteen minutes. At the conclusion of the evaluation ride, we sit down with the family to determine if this is a beneficial activity for their child. Once that’s gone well, we invite them into a time slot for a session of nine weeks. Throughout the nine-week program, we take progress notes and make sure that were meeting and adjusting goals that were set from the beginning. The family can be looking for social interaction for their child, conquering a fear of animals, increasing trunk strength or maybe just pure recreation. Sometimes, for a child who is in therapy all week, parents find that horseback riding is a way for them to have a release, make some friends, and do something fun that other kids can do.

Elizabeth: With regard to autism, you recently built a sensory trail in the woods behind the barn, which seems to be particularly beneficial to riders on the autism spectrum suffering from sensory integration issues that make it difficult for them to understand their environment. What is a sensory trail and how does that support the equine therapy program?

Cory: The sensory trail is designed to provide riders with a horseback riding experience that also stimulates their sense of sight, hearing and touch. We take them over a wooden bridge that makes a “clippity-clop” sound when the horse walks across it. There are different types of footing such as gravel and sand that the rider can hear and feel as the horse walks. There are tactile stations that are set up along the trail with various textures to stimulate the rider’s sense of touch and keep them interacting. The sensory trail also has fun activities to intellectually challenge kids, as well as provide them with the physical benefits of being on the horse.

Elizabeth: Was there a reason for building the trail in the woods rather than putting it right next to the barn?

Cory: It’s just an area to expand and offer more. The kids benefit from being outside. So by placing the sensory trail in the woods, we combined the therapeutic riding lesson with the experience of being in nature.

Elizabeth: Even in the 1940’s, the founders of Camp saw the benefit of exposing kids to nature. Times have changed. Television, computers and video games take up a lot more free time. What do you see as some of the positive effects of nature on kids here at Camp Cheerful?

Cory: One of the biggest benefits is that we get them outside. We’re able to point out deer, geese and all sorts of wildlife when we take them on trail rides. We do scavenger hunts, where we pick up leaves and look for wildflowers. We try to do some identification of the plants and wildlife on the property and in the park nearby. But as I mentioned, because a lot of our clients are in therapy all the time, Camp provides a welcome relief from that structured environment. In a camp setting, they’re outdoors and also reaping the therapeutic benefits of riding a horse. Their trunk strength is engaged, their coordination is engaged, but they are also experiencing nature which soothes many of our riders. When we’re outside, I often ask the class to just be silent and listen. This helps them to concentrate on the swaying of the horse and the sound of their feet on the ground. This seems to relax them.

Camp also gives kids the opportunity and freedom to run around in the fresh air and wide-open spaces, play sports and participate in other physical activities. I think that our kids are seeing less and less of that these days, and it is recaptured here at Camp.

Elizabeth: What types of disabilities benefit from the therapeutic riding program?

Cory: We have kids and adults with physical disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Muscular Sclerosis. As I previously mentioned, we also have clients on the autism spectrum to varying degrees, and children with behavioral and emotional disabilities.

Elizabeth: There is a sign inside the barn that reads, “Miracles Happen Here Everyday”. Do you have a particular success story that you would like to share?

Cory: Actually, I recall one intake where I was evaluating a child who was about six years old. We had volunteers helping us, so I was able to stand back and watch the evaluation process that was underway. I was assessing the rider for balance, suitability and safety… things like that. As I was observing, I walked over and started talking with the grandmother who brought the child. I noticed she was crying. At first, I was fearful that there was something wrong. I learned that she was crying because her grandson was interacting with the volunteers and starting to talk for the first time. It was amazing! She said, “He’s never tried to form words, and he’s trying to form words right now.”

Elizabeth: What do you attribute that to?

Cory: I think that the riders are enjoying the input that they’re getting from the connection to the horse, and they’re trying to give some sort of a response back.

Elizabeth: Amazing.

Cory: I know. It is hard to put into words.

Elizabeth: I think you put it into words quite nicely. Thank you for your time. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you about the wonderful work you do here.

For more information on Achievement Centers’ Camp Cheerful and the therapeutic riding program, contact the camp office at (440) 238-6200.

The Achievement Centers for Children Camp Cheerful has been providing outdoor recreation programs for children with disabilities since 1947 and was the first camp for people with disabilities in the State of Ohio. Located on 52 acres in Strongsville, Ohio, and set amidst a picturesque valley in the Mill Stream Run Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks, the camp offers a wide variety of opportunities to get kids outside and active, including the chance to ride a horse.

Other traditional camp activities include hiking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, arts and crafts, nature study activities, games, campfire activities, music and sports. Camp Cheerful also offers a state-of-the-art, fully handicap-accessible High Ropes challenge course during camp sessions. Camp programs include Day, Residential and Weekend Respite Camps, as well as a Camp for Children with Autism.

The City of Cleveland has had many nicknames over the years. Whether they were used as a hallmark, a trademark, a landmark, or a blemish on its reputation, they each defined an important point in the city’s history and its continual quest for reinvention. Former labels have included, “The New American City”, “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Capital of the World”, “America’s North Coast” and the disparaging and unfortunately best-known epithet, “Mistake on the Lake” after the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969. Older titles were “The Metropolis of the Western Reserve” and “The Sixth City”.

Oddly, Cleveland’s oldest designation seems to be it’s most unlikely. The huge manufacturing metropolis hardly seems worthy of the title “Forest City”. However, the original frontier village, founded by Moses Cleaveland at the end of the 18th century, was once a heavily forested area with lush green rolling hills that sloped to the lakeshore. Ironically, the Old English name Cleaveland means “land of cliffs” or ‘hilly area”, which indeed reflects the topography along the southern shore of Lake Erie within the boundaries of Cuyahoga County.

There is very little account of the primitive people and forests that greeted the original settlers, however records of early surveyors using living trees as property boundary markers provide enough information to reconstruct the nature and content of the landscape. The lands maintained by the Cleveland Metroparks in an extensive system of nature preserves unofficially known as the “Emerald Necklace” are also an excellent resource and encompass old growth forests that look much the same as they did when Moses Cleaveland arrived.

From 1930 -1940, Arthur B. Williams, an ecologist for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and a park naturalist, surveyed the flora and fauna of the Cleveland park reservations. He found the majority of the trees were American beech, sugar and red maple, red oak, tulip, white ash, basswood and cucumber trees. The soil at the higher elevations was well drained and not only conducive to ample forest growth, but also contained an abundance of wildflowers, ferns, birds and mammals, including Virginia deer, wild turkey, fox, bobcat and black bear.

The floodplains of the Chagrin, Cuyahoga and Rocky rivers supported entirely different ecosystems with plants and trees that could tolerate frequent flooding, such as cottonwood, American sycamore, black walnut, butternut, elm and the Ohio buckeye. An abundance of birds such as the heron, sandpipers and wood duck all sought refuge in and around the rivers. Mammals suited for this type of ecosystem were also present, including squirrels, raccoons, muskrats and mink.

As Cleveland began to grow, many trees were cut down to build new businesses and some of the land was cleared for farming. Industry began to expand and factories cut in to the natural habitats that once flourished in the area.

According to The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, credit for coining the phrase “Forest City” is widely attributed to William Case, Secretary of the Cleveland Horticultural Society in the 1840’s and also Mayor of Cleveland from 1850-51. Case was a man before his time and organized a citywide campaign to plant shade and fruit trees to beautify the city and compensate for the trees lost to the city’s growing manufacturing industry.

The Forest City also experienced more “new growth” in the 1930’s when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) planted more than 13,000 trees in Cleveland. According to a tree count in 1940, over 200,000 trees were found in the city and 100,000 more in city parks.

While the origins of Cleveland’s original nickname remain largely forgotten today, the “green” movement has sparked new interest in incorporating more green spaces into urban areas. Cleveland has plans to rehabilitate the parks and beaches in and around downtown areas, allowing better access to the lakefront. Proposals have been made to transform Public Square into a central park and construction is underway on the Mall that includes expansive civic green space according to the original Group Plan of 1903.

Last year on Earth Day, the Cleveland Metroparks planted 95 trees native to Ohio forests to celebrate its 95th anniversary. The park staff and area volunteers will also plant more trees leading up to its 100th anniversary.

Additionally, the City of Cleveland held the first Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit in 2009, committed to transforming Cleveland into a “Green City on a Blue Lake” within ten years. The organization plans to integrate sustainability and economic development into future plans for the city that will ultimately maximize investment opportunities in growth sectors such as alternative energy sources and local food production, thus creating new businesses and jobs, and also make good use of our natural resources and human capital. Good progress has been made so far and the goal is to create a sustainable Cleveland by the 50th anniversary of the infamous river fire – once and for all ridding the city of its unfortunate misnomer, ”Mistake on the Lake”.

It seems that the old adage that originally defined Cleveland as “The Forest City”, may very well become one of the precepts that saves it. Time will tell.